Tour de France:‘A number of falls with broken bones’ – Jens Voigt assess ‘dramatic’ second stage course

Jens Voigt has expressed concern about the second stage course at the Tour de France, with the bridge over the Great Belt in particular causing a lot of discussion.

The former German cyclist believes that the conditions could cause problems for some of the current favourites, and could re-shape the start of the tour.

Voigt expects a lot of drama, but also thinks the course at the second stage is borderline dangerous.

“Almost exactly 20 kilometres before the finish line, it’s on to the bridge over the Great Belt – dead straight out onto the open water. The windbreak wall on the bridge is only about 1.5 metres high, so it doesn’t completely protect the drivers.

“Depending on the wind direction, the Danish safety authorities will decide whether to drive on the right or left of the two lanes: This way, a driver caught in the wind will at least not end up in the water, but in the oncoming lane.”

The 50-year-old German record starter of the Tour of France has even suggested there could be “broken bones” due to the nature of the course.

“The tour boss actually wanted the finish line to be on the bridge, but that’s not possible with all the trucks and the podium, he said.

“So the whole bridge is driven and the drivers come back to the mainland slightly downhill at probably 75 km/h, there are two 90-degree curves waiting on a slightly narrower road, which will also be exciting.

“Then it’s only three kilometres to the destination. It’s going to be so dramatic that I’m afraid several favourites for the overall standings will unfortunately lose their chances of a podium finish that day.

“There should also be a number of falls with broken bones.”

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